Hinge for cargo container doors and the like



Jan. 13, 1970 R. L. TURPEN HINGE FOR CARGO CONTAINER DOORS AND THE LIKEFiled Jan. 25. 1968 INVENTOR. Russm L. TURPEN BY ATTORN EVS UnitedStates Patent O 3,488,793 HINGE FOR CARGO CONTAINER DOORS AND THE LIKERussell L. Turpen, North Richmond, Calif., assignor to Compass ContainerCompany, Inc., Richmond, Calif.,

a corporation of California Filed Jan. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 700,564 Int.Cl. E05d /00, 7/10, 1/06 US. Cl. 16128 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE BACKGROUND THE INVENTION Hinges of the type employed in thepivotal mounting of the doors of cargo containers, truck trailers, andsimilar heavy duty enclosures have not been particularly well suited tothe ready removal of the doors for purpose of repair, replacement, orthe like. More particularly, such hinges have heretofore typicallyincluded a bracket and a leaf pivotally secured to the bracket by meansof a non-removable pin. The bracket and leaf are usually welded, orotherwise substantially permanently secured respectively to the doorjamb of the enclosure and frame of the door. It will be thus appreciatedthat when it is desired to remove the door it is necessary to detacheach hinge bracket from the jamb, or each hinge leaf from the doorframe. By virtue of the substantially permanent nature of the Weld, orother securing means, the detachment process is tedious and timeconsuming, and frequently destructive.

As an alternative to the foregoing, the bracket and/or leaf of eachhinge may be removably secured to the door jamb and door frame as bymeans of nuts and bolts. Aside from the disadvantages accruing from thelarge number of nuts and bolts which must be removed in order to permitremoval of the door, such removable hinges are frequently susceptible totampering and are thus not theft proof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is primarily concernedwith the provision of a hinge which may be permanently secured to a doorjamb and door frame, and which yet permits the ready removal of the doorwithout detachment of the hinge from the jamb or frame. In addition, thehinge is tamper proof when the door is in closed position.

In the accomplishment of the foregoing, the hinge of the presentinvention generally includes a bracket having opposed longitudinallyspaced sockets at its opposite ends with aligned side openings facingtransversely inward of the bracket. The hinge also includes a leafhaving a hub portion traversed by a pivot pin in rotatable relationthereto, such hub portion being disposed between the opposite ends ofthe bracket with projecting ends of the pin received in the sockets. Inaccordance with the particularly salient aspects of the invention, theside openings of the sockets enable the ends of the pins to be insertedtherethrough into the sockets and to be withdrawn therethrough from thesocket in the assembly and disassembly of the leaf and bracket.Retention of the pin ends in the sockets is facilitated by means of aretainer member removably secured to the bracket interior and having endportions complementary to the sockets disposed in closing relation tothe side openings thereof. The removable securance of the retainermember is best accomplished with a single screw or equivalent fasteningmeans which is obstructed by the leaf in its closed position andaccessible when the leaf is in its open position. Thus, when the bracketand leaf are respectively permanently attached to a door jamb and frameof a door, the door may still be readily removed without removal of thebracket or leaf from the jamb or frame. The door is merely pivoted fromits closed position, wherein the screw is inaccessible and the hinge ishence tamper proof, to its open position wherein the screw isaccessible. The screw is removed to detach the retainer element from thebracket whereupon the leaf is disconnected from the bracket bywithdrawing the ends of the pin through the access openings of thesockets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a door pivotally connected to a jamb of a cargo container, orthe like, by means of a plurality of hinges in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken at line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,illustrating details of the construction of one of the hinges.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken at line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,illustrating further details of the hinge construction.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge on an enlargedscale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now toFIGURES 1 and 2 in detail, there is shown a door 11 pivotally secured toa jamb 12 of a cargo container, truck trailer, or the like, by means ofa plurality of hinges 13 in accordance with the present invention.Typically, the jamb 12 is of generally rectangular tubular metallicconstruction, and the door 11 is provided with a frame 14 also ofgenerally rectangular tubular metallic construction as shown. The frameis peripherally provided with an inwardly facing channel 16 containing asealing gasket 17, and the inner periphery of the jamb is provided withan outwardly projecting rigid seal strip 18 engageable with the gasketto provide a water impervious seal when the door is in closed position.

Heretofore, the relatively rotatable parts of conventional hinges havebeen secured to the jamb and door frame in a substantially permanentmanner, as by means of welding, or in a semipermanent manner, as bymeans of bolts and nuts. Removal of the door in the former case usuallyentails destructive disassembly of the hinges. In the latter case, thetedious and time consuming removal of a large number of nuts and boltsis required, and moreover the door may be removed surreptitiously.

The foregoing difliculties are overcome by means of the hinge 13 of thepresent invention wherein the relatively rotatable parts are permanentlysecured to the jamb 12 and door frame 14, while such parts areselectively disassemblable from each other in a tamper proof manner.More particularly, the relatively rotatable parts of hinge 13 comprise abracket 19 permanently secured to the outer face of jamb 12, as by meansof welds 21, and a leaf 22 permanently secured to the outer face offrame 14, as by means of welds 23.

The bracket 19 is of generally L-shaped configuration includingright-angularly related side legs 24, 26 having a bridging portion 27 oftriangular cross-section extending across the interior anglethereetween. The bracket further includes longitudinally opposedrectangular end portions 28, 29 extending across the end edges of theside legs 24,

26 and projecting beyond the side edge of one leg 24. The projectingtips of the end portions 28, 29 are formed with opposed arcuate sockets31, 32 having side openings 33, 34 facing transversely inward towardside leg 26. The sockets 31, 32 are preferably defined by arcuate rimwalls 36, 37 in right-angular relation to the tips of end portions 28,29 and extending substantially 180 from side leg 24 reentrantly towardside leg 26. Leg 26 is secured to the jamb 12.

The leaf 22 is rectangular and formed at one end with an angularlyoff-set cylindrical hub 38 having a diameter substantially equal theouter diameter of the socket rim walls 36, 37. The width of the leaf,i.e., axial length of the hub, is substantially equal the longitudinaldistance between the facing ends of the socket rim walls. A coaxial bore39 extends through the hub for traversal by a pivot pin 41, the oppositeends of which are engageable with the sockets 31, 32. More particularly,a bushing 42 of low friction, wear resistant material, such as nylon, ispreferably coaxially disposed in bore '39 so as to present a suitablebearing surface for rotation of the pin therein. The opposite ends ofthe pin project beyond the ends of the hub for engagement in thesockets, introduction of the pin ends thereto being facilitated throughthe openings 33, 34. With the pin thus engaging the sockets, the hub iscoaxially disposed between the ends of the socket rim walls androtatable about the pin. The leaf is thereby rendered rotatable relativeto the bracket.

In order to retain the pin in engagement with the sockets 31, 32, in aselectively disengageable manner, the hinge 13 further includes aretainer member 43 removably secured to the interior of bracket 19 inclosing relation to the socket openings 33, 34. More particularly, theretainer member is preferably of L-shaped configuration includingright-angularly related side legs 44, 46 having exterior faces adaptedto engage the interior faces of the bracket side legs 24, 26 and aplanar exterior apex face 47 adapted to engaged the bracket bridgingportion 27. In other words, the exterior of the retainer member conformsto the interior of the bracket. The retainer member is formed withparallel longitudinally spaced substantially rectangular end projections48, 49. Such projections are adapted to engage the interior faces of thebracket end portions 28, 29 and define complementary closures for thesocket openings 33, 34. More particularly, the tips of the projections48, 49 are provided with arcuate notches 51, 52 extending substantially180 in complementary relation to the socket rim walls 36, 37 so as toclose the openings 33, 34.

Removable securance of the retainer member 43 to the bracket ispreferably accomplished by means of a screw 53 traversing a bore 54through the member normal to face 47, and threadably engaging a tap 56provided in the bracket bridging portion 27. With the retainer memberthus secured to the bracket, it will be appreciated that the pin isretained in the sockets. Moreover, it will be noted that when the door11 is in closed position, the screw 53 is obstructed by the leaf 22 andcannot be removed. The hinge 13 of the present invention is thus tamperproof and the door cannot be surreptitiously removed. However, when thedoor is open, the screw of each hinge is accessible such that theretainer member can be readily removed to permit disassembly of the leaf22 from the bracket 19, and thus removal of the door.

Iclaim:

1. A hinge comprising a bracket having opposed longitudinally spacedsockets at its opposite ends with aligned side openings facingtraversely inward of the bracket, a leaf having a hub portion disposedlongitudinally between said sockets, a pin traversing said hub inrotatable relation thereto and having projecting ends engaging saidsockets, said ends of said pin translatable through said side openings,a retainer member having end portions complementary to said socketsdisposed in closing relation to said side openings thereof, andfastening means removably securing said retainer member to said bracket.

2. A hinge according to claim 1, further defined by said bracket havinga generally L-shaped configuration including first and second rightangularly related side legs, said brackets having end portions extendingacross the end edges of said side legs with tips projecting rightangularly beyond the side edge of said first side leg, said tips havinglongitudinally opposed walls extending arcuately from said first sideleg reentrantly toward said second side leg to define said sockets withside openings, said retainer member being of generally L-shapedconfiguration having an exterior conforming to the interior of saidbracket, said end portions of said retainer member having arcuatenotches in complementary relation to said walls and closing saidopenings.

3, A hinge according to claim 2, further defined by said leaf beingrectangular and said hub being cylindrical and angularly offset from oneend thereof, said hub having a diameter substantially equal to the outerdiameter of said walls and a length substantially equal to thelongitudinal distance between said walls, said hub having a coaxial boretraversed by said pin.

4. A hinge according to claim 3, further defined by a bushing of lowfriction wear resistant material coaxially disposed in said bore andtraversed by said pin.

5. A hinge according to claim 3, further defined by said bracket havinga triangular bridging portion extending across the interior anglebetween said side legs, said retainer member having a planar apex faceconformably engaging said bridging portion, said bridging portion havinga tap extending normally thereinto, said retainer member having a borealigned with said tap, said fastening means comprising a screw extendingthrough said bore of said retainer member and threadably engaging saidtap.

6. A hinge according to claim 5, further defined by a bushing of lowfriction wear resistant material coaxially disposed in said bore of saidhub and traversed by said References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,485,398 3/1924 Ledwinka 16-171 3,206,792 9/1965 Beck 16128 BOBBY R.GAY, Primary Examiner DORIS L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner U-S- C X-Rr1

